A broken water line prompted the evacuation of a 31-story apartment building in downtown Dallas on Thursday evening, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue.
The street by 1800 Main Street was blocked as police and emergency responders evacuated residents from the Mercantile Bank Building. No injuries were reported, officials said.
In an email sent to residents obtained by The Dallas Morning News, Brookfield Properties, the complex’s management, said a water leak triggered the emergency response.
The 1940-era building was evacuated as apartment officials and responders went door to door to ensure everyone got out safely. Water and electricity services were shut off, according to one email — which informed residents that it was not immediately clear when it would be safe for them to return.
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For those without another place to stay, the email said, the Red Cross would provide buses to the public library, where further assistance and accommodations would be made available.
Dallas Fire-Rescue responds to a call for service at 1800 Main Street, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in downtown Dallas.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Dallas Fire-Rescue said in a statement that rescue units were dispatched to the location at 3:46 p.m. after a ruptured water line on the apartment’s 20th floor made its way to an electrical room on the 11th floor.
The leak generated sparks and large amounts of smoke. More than 25 units responded from Dallas Fire-Rescue, according to active call logs.
There were approximately 175 occupied units in the building that had to be evacuated, according to DFR.
“There is no timeline on when the electrical will be fixed, but it will most likely not be today,” the Dallas Fire-Rescue statement said.
Joseph Melton, who said he lived on the apartment’s 22nd floor, was working from home when he received emails from the complex notifying him about the water leak and the out-of-service elevator.
Residents gather outside Mercantile Place as Dallas Fire-Rescue respond to a call for service at 1800 Main Street, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in downtown Dallas.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Melton said he stepped over soaked ceiling tiles that had fallen before reaching a stairwell, where he descended more than 20 flights on foot.
“It was dark because there were no emergency lights and the water was flowing on the stairs,” Melton, 22, said in an interview.
Officials with the Dallas Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for information from The News.